St lukes DOT and extra processing time?

[JT114881 2]

My wife went though the 6 months of directly observed treatment at St Luke's, plus the 2 extra months for the final sputum result. She FINALLY had

her interview on the 13th and was approved (CR-1 visa) but the consular officer said it would take a longer for her to receive her visa because

of some clearance that they need to do with her medical and the CDC and the Department of State. What is that clearance, how long does it take, why couldn't they have started this clearance thing earlier and why was I never told about it until the last minute? Total delays imposed by St. Luke's so far: 10 months.

Has anyone else had this happen to them?

[JT114881 2]

No one?

[alphysolo 0]

We may be in the same situation.. DOT completed and Manila interview set for next week. I haven't read anything about this special clearance but will let you know if I find out anything. Did the consular officer indicate whether the approval time needed would extend beyond the medical clearance period? (which I think for us is 3 months). Sorry to hear of your additional delay to an already long process.

[JT114881 2]

We may be in the same situation.. DOT completed and Manila interview set for next week. I haven't read anything about this special clearance but will let you know if I find out anything. Did the consular officer indicate whether the approval time needed would extend beyond the medical clearance period? (which I think for us is 3 months). Sorry to hear of your additional delay to an already long process.

The consular officer gave me a "ballpark" of 1 month and when I called the Embassy again yesterday they said 2-3 weeks. I am pretty sure it has to do with this:

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/other/news/sep1808noflylist.html

I guess St. Luke's (@ssholes) put people undergoing DOT on the "Do Not Board" list of the CDC. Why they do this is unknown to me as people undergoing DOT can't fly

to the U.S. yet anyway (no visa yet DUH).

[alphysolo 0]

Thanks for the info!

The 2-3 weeks estimate seems to match this statement in a 2008 CDC report:

"CDC and state and local health departments regularly review each situation every 2-4 weeks to determine

when an individual can be removed from the DNB (Do Not Board) List."

Also note possibility of waiving of airline fees (?)...

"The conference call is also used as an opportunity to make requests on behalf of the patient, such as the waiver of airline

fees associated with changing the travel date and visa extensions."

See pg 11 of http://www.cdc.gov/maso/facm/pdfs/ACET/20080617_ACETminutes.pdf

There's an interesting review of St. Luke's treatment program starting on pg 12.

Hope your visa arrives ASAP and good luck!